The Truth About Aquarium Heaters (and Why They Always Break...)

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As a retired electronics engineer, I can tell you the reason heaters fail is because they are designed wrong. With the correct design, the heater can last decades. It really wouldn't cost that much more to do it right. The current design hooks up the heating elements directly to the mains (Constant Voltage Source). They need to design it so the heating elements connect to a Constant Current Source. That way the heater can turn on and off thousands of times a day without the destructive current surges through the heating elements when it turns on. If the heater detects a low flow condition the electronics can throttle back the current to the heating elements. Another design flaw of most heaters is the electronics are in the same tube that the heating elements are, subjecting the electronics to high temperatures. High heat is the enemy of electronics. The designs that use a separate controller out side of the tank are much better.

Cory, one thing that differentiates your videos from others I watch on the hobby, is that after watching yours I end up making changes to my tanks. Thank you very much. You make a difference.

Damn, I tilted my heater right away and put it near my bubbles for flow. Thanks for the advice!!

A warning to everyone who keep large fish concerning heaters. I had a 75 gallon tank with two Oscars, and as anyone who has kept Oscars know they can be rowdy fish. I went to feed them one day and noticed something shiny in the bottom of the tank. Reached in to take it out and it was the glass case from the heater. I immediately went to remove the remains of the heater from the tank, but it wasn't there. I found it lying behind the tank on the wooden tank stand, it had been there, still running, and had burnt the wood, I mean a serious deep charred spot. I'm just lucky my house didn't catch fire. So anyone with large fish capable of doing this beware, take precautions to avoid this happening. Myself, I quit using heaters altogether.

Beautiful goldfish tank. I'd happily watch a video of that tank for an hour.

"Retain as much heat as you can first" was the approach I've applied to my aquarium, which is currently in my basement. My basement is only semi-finished, so only semi-insulated. At least it's heated. So to keep as much heat as possible, the outside back and one end are covered with styrofoam sheets, and I usually have towels laying on top of my lid (which doubles to keep dust out). The heating I use is an under-gravel heating cable.

“Don’t drive your car like an idiot...”. LOL! Coop needs to develop a heater with range, so less on and off. Love the vid!

Cory, you are so good at explaining things! Thank you, I never looked at it that away!

I'd love to see a heater developed by Aquatium Co-OP. The sponge filters you have are great, I'd imagine anything you guys produce would be cost effective and well made.

Nice job with the explanation here Cory. It would definitely be nice to have a heater with a heating curve, instead of a hard-set temperature to stick to.

My personal experience is that once i started going with Eheim (Jäger) i haven't had a failed heater for over 10 years. They are all still going strong. Previously i had broken heaters every year.

Great information. Thanks for taking the time to explain it all so well. It helps me to really understand the ‘why’ behind things.

Love what you guys bring to the hobby! You remind me of brs but for fresh water. Temp controllers and exchangeable parts are the future of heaters with a way to cut power if temp exceeds a certain value.

Best fish keeping advice on YouTube, as always. Practical, common sense, honest. If everyone ran their business like Cory the world would be such a nicer and easier place.

This is super helpful, thank you. I'm looking to get my first tank but before i do im researching everything to make sure my new flat mates are well cared for and this made perfect sense! Defo my fav fishtuber :D

WOW this has been the best put together information about heaters and how they work and why they fail.... EVER!! Thank you. You have just changed my entire thinking on heating my aquariums.

You’ve been reading my rants! (Maybe) I love these “how to properly use your equipment” videos. I always put my heaters (which are E. Jager) either next to the filter intake or output, horizontal and below water change level. And set them to winter water temps for the fishes natural habitat. (Shrimp don’t need a heater for ex) Ha ha ha... I use a lot of 50w & 75w heaters in the house and don’t go to 100w except for the garage tanks with bigger tanks (unheated garage). I also add rigid insulation to the back of my tanks.

Thank you Incredibly informative - some of the best information on an important subject

My last heater JUST burned out... And you explained every thing I did wrong. Just fixed my mistakes. Thank you!! :)